Election Preview: March 2012

With primary season kicking off and redistricting wrapping up, this issue contains our state-by-state analysis of the battle for control of Congress. Republicans need to net four seats to gain the Senate majority. House Democrats need a net gain of 25 seats to reclaim the Speakers gavel.

College basketball and the dawn of spring are hardly the only highlights of March. Congressional primaries are now in full swing, and the outcomes of key races could decide control of the Senate in November.

Writing an analysis calculating the final result of redistricting is a little like putting a sign on your back that reads kick me. No matter how methodical and dispassionate you try to be, you are forced to make plenty of subjective judgments, guaranteeing that you will be second-guessed by just about everyone.

In our November Election Preview, we wrote that we expected several Members on this list wouldnt make the next one because of retirements. Sure enough, Reps. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), Dan Burton (R-Ind.) and David Dreier (R-Calif.) all decided to call it quits.